FIG. 9 shows a conventional pressure contact connector 6 comprising a connector housing 1, and a female pressure contact terminal fitting 2 housed in a terminal housing chamber 3 formed within the connector housing 1. The terminal fitting 2 has a long and narrow box-shape, a resilient contact member 5 being formed on the anterior end thereof, the contact member 5 fitting together with a corresponding terminal fitting (not shown). A pressure contact blade 4 is provided on the posterior end of the pressure contact terminal fitting 2, an insulated electric wire W fitting thereto.
The electric wire W is attached to the pressure contact terminal fitting 2 by an automated machine. That is, the insulated wire W is pressed by a pressing means (not shown) of an automated machine onto the pressure contact blade 4, the blade 4 and wire W accordingly becoming electrically connected. In practice, an anterior face of the housing is placed against a receiving face 9 of the automated machine, and a pressing force from the automated machine acts upon the posterior end face of the pressure contact terminal fitting 2 in the direction of arrow A, this force passing through the anterior face wall 3A of the terminal housing chamber 3 and being received and stopped by the receiving face 9. As a result, the pressure contact terminal fitting 2 is clamped between its anterior and posterior ends.
However, the pressure contact terminal fitting 2 has a long and narrow shape in the anterior-posterior direction.. Consequently, in the case where the pressing force from the automated machine is high, there is the possibility that the pressure contact terminal fitting 2 could change shape and bend inside the chamber 3.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problem into consideration, and aims to present a pressure contact terminal fitting which does not bend when the wire is pushed into the blade 4.